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Text Ardent Desire felt good: at first, things had been rough with Morning Glory... but after a few days, she had calmed down, and Radiant Beacon was almost the same as before, still calling him big brother, still spending time with him, which had greatly surprised him. It didn't surprise either Helena or Cupidus, however: Morning Glory and Ardent Desire were both so distracted they had both forgotten to check whether or not Radiant Beacon was still under Ardent's allure. And the youngest sibling most definitely was still feeling that draw. Ardent Desire had been forced to release a little over half his harem, but Morning Glory had let him keep some of the mares... the ones who seemed closest to him and the ones who had nowhere to return to. Or, in Rhubarb's case, who Morning Glory was forced to recognize they might actually need the assistance of, whether she liked it or not. The servants she had no problem with on the other hoof, especially since Ardent continued to pay them handsomely, and he had more than enough money to do so. As a matter of fact, the vaults of the estate now seemed to be larger than ever, and filled with more than just bits: there were golden treasures, gemstones, all sorts of pretty things glimmering in the piles upon piles of money now. Morning Glory had insisted that they send a tribute of wealth to their father, however: as a silent apology, and because she felt it was a way for Ardent Desire to start making up for his mistakes. Morning Glory herself was feeling... strange. Distracted as of late, and she had developed a strange almost-sisterhood with Helena, who regularly gave her those rare, delicious apples she had come to love. She was filled with heavy desires, though, and powerful needs... she felt hot almost all the time, and her eyes lingered on Ardent Desire, and her love for him... felt so strong, felt so deep. Swelled up whenever she saw him... and more than love, there was... oh, no, no, it was wrong, those emotions had all come from that accursed enchantment, she couldn't really desire him that way... could she? She was confused, and she didn't like being confused. And all her time was spent either with Helena, or with Ardent Desire. She trained hard each and every morning, but instead of tiring her out, they only seemed to fuel her further... her body screamed for a different kind of exercise but no, no, she would not give it that. She would prefer to find a strange stallion, but no other stallion attracted her like her own brother did. It scared her, and that in and of itself seemed to make her longing all the more worse, because Morning Glory had never, ever allowed anything that scared her to go unchallenged for so long, no matter what the consequences were. Morning Glory trusted Helena enough to even ask her advice on the subject, but Helena always only told her to follow her instincts. The Kelpie couldn't think of anything else to say... or rather, didn't want to. She hated what she was doing, hated how these mortals trusted her and she had allowed herself to become close to them, and hated the way Cupidus was making her twist them towards his own ends as she fed apple after apple tainted with concentrated lust to the pink mare. The mare who trusted her, asked her advice, confided in her like a friend and was fascinated with her because she thought the Kelpie was a demon right out of her mother's old stories... when Helena knew she was just a coward, struggling for self-preservation. And above it all, looking down on all these players in his complex game, was Cupidus: the greed devil pulled strings and made adjustments as necessary, gave Helena regular reminders of what was within his power to do to her if she disobeyed, and every now and then checked in on Ardent Desire to ensure plans were progressing smoothly. The stage was set and everything was all laid out, moving as quickly as he'd anticipated: Cupidus knew that soon enough, he'd get precisely what he desired to fortify his position in Helheim and expand his influence further. The devil showed not even the faintest hint of any of his emotions or scheming as he carefully examined Ardent Desire's horn, however, while the orange stallion shifted awkwardly on his hooves. He winced a bit as he felt the devil's thin claws carefully tracing over the black runes that spiraled along the entire length of his horn, the stallion asking nervously: "The pain, that's... that's going to go away, right? It's been weeks and it still hurts..." "You will not feel this pain forever." Cupidus said calmly, and Ardent Desire smiled at the reassurance, not understanding how much of that statement was left open to interpretation. Then the devil sat back and adjusted his mask, saying softly: "The brand is permanent now. You are marked as one of my assets. You mentioned other business?" "Uh..." For a moment, Ardent Desire was thrown off by the devil's statement, but then the stallion hurriedly shook his head before he said finally: "Yes. I want... Morning Glory has been talking a lot about my Dad lately, and... I need to know if... there's some way I can make things up to Lord Bonfire. If you could help me... make amends to him, Cupidus." "The proposal has no relevance to me and you have nothing to further offer, Ardent Desire." Cupidus dismissed it with a shake of his head, and Ardent Desire looked oddly hurt as he reared back a bit, before the devil added in what sounded close to distaste: "Besides, haven't you already begun this process yourself? You sent a tribute of wealth to Lord Bonfire. I am certain that like all things, a father's 'love' can be purchased with gold and jewels. And do not forget that your presence makes all things respect you. Your father will not be immune to this." "I... no, Cupidus, that's... that's not what I want, to buy his affection or force him to kneel to me!" Ardent Desire blurted, shaking his head quickly before he gestured almost desperately at the devil. "Look... look at Morning Glory, can you understand that? That's what I wanted, her to care about me without... me influencing her at all." "Because of how you felt that everything had changed after your mother's death... because you felt that she stopped caring about you, ceased to see you as anything but a worthless nuisance." stated Cupidus patiently, echoing the things that Ardent Desire had inferred or told him a thousand times before, and the stallion nodded slowly, dropping his head forwards... not knowing that just outside the door, Morning Glory herself was listening at the door. But Cupidus could sense her clearly, as his eyes flicked towards it and he continued in a soft but clear voice: "Because you loved her, with all your heart. Because even your father's approval didn't matter nearly as much as hers, am I correct?" "Yes, and... I have to live with the mistakes I made and the pain I caused and... and the fact that she..." Ardent Desire reached up and silently rubbed at his horn, sending a dull throb through his body before he trembled a little. "I don't understand my own feelings." "Few mortals do. That's the entire point of being mortal, however... learning to make the right choices with the broken faculties you've been given." Cupidus replied calmly, then he simply bowed his head politely before vanishing in a burst of smoke. There was silence for a few moments, and then Ardent Desire looked up and mumbled: "Well, goodbye to you too, Cupidus. Still... I... I guess you're right. If... you can hear me. You probably can't. Ardent, you're... you're an idiot." The stallion hammered his front hooves gently against his forehead as he fell back on his haunches, sighing tiredly. He mumbled disconsolately to himself... then frowned and looked up as the door creaked open before giving a small smile to Morning Glory, beginning: "You just missed Cupidus, he was-" "I know. I was listening." Morning Glory said quietly, and she trembled a bit as Ardent Desire blushed a little. For a few moments, there was silence between them, and then the mare swallowed thickly before she leaned forwards and whispered: "Ardent... I always loved you as my big brother, and I still do, okay? Don't doubt that. I... you're very handsome and... I don't want to lose you. I'm just scared of how... things..." She slowly strode forwards, and Ardent Desire swallowed a little as their eyes met. He breathed quietly in and out as she approached, then reached up and touched his shoulder... and for a few long moments, there was nothing between them but all the emotions and turmoil that passed back and forth in their locked gaze. And then Morning Glory leaned hesitantly forwards, until their lips were almost touching, as tears fell down her cheeks and she whispered: "Why..." Ardent Desire opened his mouth, knowing he should say something, pull away, resist, stop... but then a faint red light hummed along his horn, and he felt that pulse of desire, saw her not as a sister, but a beautiful mare who was here, who loved him, who he loved and wanted and needed in so many ways, and instead he leaned up so his lips touched hers... A gentle brush, and then Morning Glory leaned down even as a sob hitched out of her throat, and their mouths met in a kiss that first was soft, and then became passionate. Both siblings gave in, as Morning Glory slipped overtop him and Ardent grasped at her, clinging to her like she was his only safe haven amidst a sea of torment and destruction... And just down the hall, in one of the side bedrooms, Helena glared at Cupidus with utter hatred as she whispered harshly: "There, it's done! You're going to get what you wanted, Cupidus, and... I'm leaving to find my sisters, and I hope we never, ever cross paths again!" "There are still a few uncertainties in this investment, adjustments that may have to be made, but yes: Ardent Desire has proven an excellent puppet. I thought that Morning Glory would be more resistant, but... mortals are easily manipulated. She will require some fine-tuning but I foresee her value increasing exponentially after I have acquired her soul." Cupidus replied calmly, and then he simply gave a dismissive flick of his wrist to the Kelpie. "Go." Helena snarled furiously at him, eyes glowing as she bared her fangs, but the Greed devil looked unfettered before the Kelpie spat a curse at him, then spun around and stormed out. The orange eyes of the devil watched as the door swung closed behind the demon, and then he calmly reached into his cloak to pull out a black, hardcover accounting book. Next he produced a red ink pot and a simple quill, putting these aside on a bed-table as he opened the book and took his time paging through it. He was in no rush to tie up his business: as Cupidus had learned over the thousands of years he had existed, haste made waste, and looked unprofessional. Finally, he settled on a page marked with runes, then carefully grasped his quill and pulled it free from the pot. He shook it a few times to clean excess red ink from it before carefully writing a short series of accounting notes along the page, and then he calmly nodded before signing his name under the new transactions to authorize them. His orange eyes closed as the book slammed shut in his hand... and outside, as Helena strode quickly through the field in broad daylight, cursing and snarling and not caring who saw her, the demon suddenly felt a bolt of coldness and came to a halt. She looked slowly back and forth with a frown, and then glanced over her shoulder... and her face went pale and her jaw fell open as she stared disbelievingly up at a specter clad in a tattered, ripped cloak, silver gauntlets tenderly squeezing the pole of a scythe it almost cradled against itself, a gleaming steel mask in the shape of a deer's skull hiding its features. Only wide, gaping black sockets stared down at her, revealing that this thing was hollow of emotion, of life, of everything but nothingness. "Your accounts have been settled and you have been found owing payment." the creature whispered, and Helena stumbled backwards before screaming when the shade suddenly rose its scythe, then slashed downwards even as she tried to throw herself away, but too late. The blade left no mark when it passed through her... and yet all the same, it was a corpse that hit the ground, not a living body, Helena's eyes staring sightlessly before the corpse began to rapidly rot away. And, dangling from the scythe, screaming silently as she grabbed at the blade pierced through her features, was the ghostly blue outline of the Kelpie's soul. Her lower legs kicked weakly at the air, but the cloaked reaper only calmly held one silver claw out to the side, and the demon's soul turned to blue smoke that was drawn downwards, coalescing into a solid blue sphere. The specter squeezed this slowly as it hovered silently in the brightness of day, and then as suddenly as it had come, it was gone. All that was left was a corpse that had already decayed into seaweed and brine, staining the rolling fields beneath the careless sky. Top ↑ Category:Transcript Category:Story